For ordinary Africans, any visit by a sitting U.S. President to the Continent is worthy of notice, of celebration and also of introspection.
Notice, because these trips are choreographed to broadcast U.S. policies. We all need to be listening. Celebration, as such African missions happen maybe twice in the term of a U.S. Administration, and with them, bringing the spotlight to a continent, not for its conflicts and crises, but for its opportunities. And finally introspection, because the presidential visit offers a framework of engagement going forward.
So what does the visit of a U.S. president signal to an emerging continent? What does it say about Africa's evolving relationship with the U.S. government and the U.S. private sector? And what does it mean for Kenya – a country anxiously seeking to reclaim its position as an anchor for democracy, security and economic innovation on the continent?
The Signal: Africa matters
It is no longer an afterthought in the realm of U.S. foreign policy; no longer just a continent worth of our pity, our tax deductible contributions and our attention in times of conflict, famine and unrest. It is a continent of opportunity – it is the next frontier. If growth rates hold, Africa will have a powerful middle class with significant purchasing power for global goods and services: eBay, Amazon, and Apple take note.
Africa is a continent with a youthful and energetic population which, if productively employed, could provide an economic dividend for world economic growth. Alternatively, a lack of economic opportunity could lead this same population to create the next zone for unrest and fuel the emergence of anti-state actors.
It is a continent whose path towards sustainable development holds the key to preserving our global environmental balance, protecting our rainforests and our bio-diversity. A continent where investments in infrastructure and human capital are fundamentally under-funded and under-capitalized and whose urgency will require a coordinated global response.
The Evolving Relationship with the United States
While President Obama's trip to Africa, by design and protocol, will have a bilateral focus with stops in Kenya and Ethiopia, his mission maintains a context larger than the agendas of these two east African nations. According to the White House, President Obama's main objective will be to participate in the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) to be held outside of Nairobi from 24 to 26 July – the second GES to be held on the Continent, but the very first to be located in sub Saharan Africa.
The GES, launched in 2009, is predicated on the belief that providing a path toward opportunity for the world's young people will empower them to provide for themselves and their families, and in doing so, to build a society committed to the preservation of institutions, of community and of hope for the future. Economic empowerment is the antidote to extremism and terrorism – an ideology predicated on a belief that only from institutional destruction can a future be built.
Beyond the power of the individual, the GES focuses on another core belief of the White House and this U.S. President; the future development of Africa and most of the world's emerging markets lies in enabling the private sector. The times of open ended aid budgets are gone – there is neither the budget nor the political will for major new foreign assistance initiatives. Those that will make it through the Washington partisan politics are programs like Obama's signature Power Africa, which utilizes limited government assistance and government incentives to enable the private sector to invest in power generation, transmission and distribution.
As such, the GES is likely to take on the obstacles that hinder enabling the entrepreneur: the constraints to opportunity and growth, including access to capital, lack of skills in the job-creating markets, the additional cost of poor infrastructure including power, roads, and telecommunications, government bureaucracy, weak regulation, distorted taxation and institutional corruption.
What we are likely, therefore, to see from the GES is a transition in the U.S.-Africa relationship, marked by movement away from donor-country relationships toward more sustainable public-private partnerships and increased private sector engagement.
The Meaning for Kenya
The country, and the Continent, would greatly benefit by heeding the powerful signal presented at the GES. Like their Nigerian brothers and sisters, Kenyans too believe that entrepreneurship is part of their national DNA – and that it is a critical contributor to the empowerment of the youth-driven economy. If Kenyans maintain their focus on women and youth as the unshakable bedrock for economic growth and development, a more assured future will be guaranteed.
Inarguably, major U.S. corporations, businesses and investors with valuable experience and relevant expertise will be taking their cue from the U.S. president's policy agenda. Thereafter, it will be up to Kenyans and their leaders to move with alacrity, creating the right environments that will help forge long-lasting and mutually beneficial partnerships with some of America's legendary business and investment giants.
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Against this larger context the U.S. president's visit holds a distinct meaning to the people of Kenya.
"Long-timing coming" is what the Kenyan people think! Where else could you possible host a summit of entrepreneurs if not in Kenya? We want President Obama to embrace this opportunity to showcase the promise and potential of expanding economic opportunity in Africa, particularly among these innovative and inspiring entrepreneurs. We want the world to see Kenyans, and the Continent, not only in the real terms of where they are, but also where they are going. This will be a celebration of pride and promise. Last, but certainty not least, President Obama's greatly anticipated visit to Kenya will finally allow the nation and its people to celebrate their proud ties to his family heritage.
Dr George Odera–Outa, is Associate Director at africapractice, a pan-African strategic communications and investments advisory firm. Riva Levinson is the Managing Director of KRL International, a consultancy based in Washington, DC specializing in the world's emerging markets.
